Moving On

Well I did finish the book. And I was certainly inspired by much of the wisdom it contained though like I've said before, it seemed geared towards those "closet" artists who have ignored or hidden their creativity and want to start to explore it again.
When I began the reading and exercises, it was after going through another of those blocks where just nothing sparked for me and I needed help working through the block. Those blocks come and go for all of us creative types and we all need some inspiration, ideas and support to get through them.
That brings me to my point here. I am going to make this blog more geared towards just that. A forum for many artists to share some ideas, be they specific to working through or accepting a block, or ideas for managing time, business tips, and other things to get our creative juices flowing. I have asked some and will approach more artists to join me here and share with us.
So join me and your fellow creatives and share any ideas you care to contribute! I will post things with links back to the contributors and certainly give all due credit. And look for it us Facebook, I will create a page for us there.
Keep in touch!
-- Robin

Matisse vs. Picasso

I found a link to an article about the show I mentioned in the previous post. The show was mounted in 1999 - quite awhile ago. I liked this article which went well beyond the museum show and delved more into philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. I fall very much on the "Matisse" (or Apollonion) side it seems.
Interesting. Check it out - http://www.slate.com/id/20781

Jealousy

Well here we are into summer now.
I've recently had some mental ups and downs. Went through another week or more of creative blocks. Struggled with a couple paintings that I couldn't figure out and had to mull over them for probably a week. I sometimes feel like my brain is ahead of my hand in its ability to express. Its very frustrating. Almost a feeling of impotence I suppose.

Then I've also had some bouts of that evil green-eyed monster -- jealousy! I wonder if Ms. Cameron addresses this? I will be honest. I haven't picked up the book since Chapter 8 or 9. Definitely found things of merit in those chapters as well and meant to blog about them. I have just been lazy I guess. And have too many things going on. Such is the life of a working mother, right?

But back to jealousy. It can certainly undermine you if you let it. I know its not just me too - I suppose everyone has someone that they feel some competition with. And I suspect that we all keep it a dirty little secret. I, for one, don't want anyone to know my private insanity. ;-)

For me, its someone in a similar place in life, but a whole lot more like King Midas. So their success feels like a failure for me. And I know its totally irrational. We don't even paint the same subjects. Anyway - it turned out to work in my favor two weeks ago when I decided I was going to "show them!" and finally got that painting out of my head and on canvas. I suppose jealousy or competition can be a motivation.

I recall an interesting exhibit at the Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth) quite a few years ago - "Picasso & Matisse - A Gentle Rivalry." It focused on the relationship between the two painters and how they sometimes motivated and alternately competed with one another. Its been so long now that I don't remember much of the relationship but now that I am reminded of it, I think I will explore it some more.

enthusiasm is grounded in play, not work

I recently decided that I would drop off the Daily Painter's Gallery blog. My work has been appearing on there for many years and I would have to say that much of my early success in the blogsphere was due to exposure there. So it was hard to decide to not participate. Its probably not that big a deal, but I have felt pressure to "perform" because of the expectation the online gallery creates. I haven't been painting those small paintings though I do paint daily. Most of my work is focused on gallery pieces. And sometimes, too much on that.

When reading chapters 8 and 9 the last couple of weeks, I was struck by this -
"The discipline itself, not the creative outflow, becomes the point."
I know some artists, especially since this "daily painting" phenomenon, believe they cannot stop, that they have to paint/produce something every day - especially in order to sell on their blogs.

I think that some artists who do the "daily paintings" can get stuck in a rut, or put out work that is not the best just for the sake of being seen... I don't want to do that. I do not want to judge a work by whether its "good enough for the blog" or "good enough for $100."

Since the new year, and beginning this book, I've relaxed a lot in my work and allowed myself to change gears, to experiment a little more, and to focus on what I love. So it seems logical to remove the pressure to create something to meet other's expectations.

"That part of us that creates best is not a driven, disciplined automation, functioning from willpower, with a booster of pride to back it up. Over any extended period of time, being an artist requires enthusiasm more than discipline."

- Robin

remember when...

I was reading and posting?
I've been implementing more than reading. The book really did help me immensely and I am reminding myself as I begin each new day at the easel to think about those comments about perfectionism. I've relaxed so much more and am enjoying my work. Its interesting to me what an impact reading that section had on me. I suppose others might have a similar response to some other parts. Its nice that she covers so many possible blocks to the creative spirit and offers so much in the way of overcoming those blocks.

My days are so full this month that I have a hard time working in anything else, so my reading is on hold. My hope to do this in 12 to 16 weeks has stretched out further and further. But I am still picking it up and underlining key ideas for me. Just not writing about them much.

-- Robin

pefectionism

So I'm reading along through Week 7: Recovering a Sense of Connection and read the section on "Perfectionism" and BAM! a lightning bolt hits me. This is me. This describes my problem exactly!

"Instead of creating freely and allowing errors to reveal themselves later as insights, we often get mired in getting the details right. We correct our originality into a uniformity that lacks passion and spontaneity."

My husband thought this was particularly apropos:

"For the perfectionist, there are no first drafts, rough sketches, warm-up exercises. Every draft is meant to be final, perfect, set in stone."

And finally, what I've not been able to explain to others:

"In this way, artists who do not appear blocked to the outside eye experience themselves as blocked internally, unable to take the risk of moving into new and more satisfying artistic territory."

THAT has been my problem. Once in awhile lately, I've been able to paint with some "verve" but rarely. Everything has felt calculated and bogged down. Nothing is coming easily or freely, because I am not letting it. So today, ah... today. I blocked in and I played with paint and I mushed things here and there and I didn't paint an apple, but I painted red and green shapes with shadows and highlights. And it felt so good.

This section reminded me to reread this article I have torn out of an old magazine... a piece by Kevin Macpherson entitled, "Passionate Painting: It Takes More Than Just Technical Mastery to Create a Great Painting." (Southwest Art, Sept. 2000)

"If art is only a laborious mechanical re-creation of reality without any emotional direction or purpose, it is only a technical exercise. If as artists we can reveal our emotions in a well-crafted statement, we are nearing excellence in art."

Amen.

-- Robin

halfway mark

We are supposedly halfway through the book. Week 6. I am very curious to have some comments left by those that have worked through the book. I hear a lot of people say its "the best book," but I don't know how it helped or changed their creative situations.
Was it like a bolt of lightening? Was it more a subtle shift? Did the exercises develop into a new way of approaching your art?
Do you remember the path and implement them regularly, or do you need a refresher course every few years?
Comment here and share your experiences. Thanks!
-- Robin